No more shalt thou be Valkyrie, but only a mortal woman, such as thou didst shield from me! A man shall find thee here, become thine husband -- thy new lord and master -- and thou wilt sit by his hearth, spinning, while thine hair turns gray!

After slaying Siegmund, the enraged Odin races home to punish Brunnhilda. She seeks help from her Valkyrie sisters, because Sieglinda is pregnant with Siegmund's child. Hildegarde sends her to the great forest where the Giant Fafnir now sits with his golden horde, along with the pieces of Needful. Odin arrives in Valhalla and decides Brunnhilda's punishment. Odin takes her to Earth, there to make her mortal, to be taken by a man and grow old. She begs that only a man of worth find her and Odin grants this last request. He then puts her to sleep and causes a ring of fire to rise up around her, which only one who knows no fear can step through. Elsewhere, Sieglinda dies giving birth to Siegfried, who is raised by Mime. After several years, Siegfried comes of age, and Mime shows him the broken sword Needful. Siegfried reforges the sword himself, and with it splits the anvil and the block it rests on in one stroke. Mime then tricks Siegfried into confronting Fafnir to learn fear. Odin, in disguise, arrives as well to view the confrontation between Alberich, Fafnir, and Siegfried.